I AM THE MESSENGER

Zusak, Markus.  I am the Messenger.  New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.  ISBN 0-375-93099-X.


Plot Summary

Ed Kennedy leads an uneventful, ordinary life with a less-than-stellar future ahead of him.  His life takes a dramatic change when he stops a bank robber.  After that, Ed starts receiving cryptic messages leading him to people in need.  Because of this, Ed chooses to step out of his mediocre existence to become somewhat of a hero to those whom he helps.


Critical Analysis

The cultural markers for I am the Messenger are quickly made apparent.  Terms such as "mate," "bloke," "shirty," "funked," "bloody" (as in "bloody cry" or "bloody clothesline"), "wanker," "arsehole," and "bore" are used.  There are no definitions given for unfamiliar terms; however, the reader can infer the meaning by using contextual clues.

I am the Messenger is told by the main character, Ed.  There is a balanced selection of narration and dialogue.  Much of the narration is tempered with Ed's dry sense of humor and cynical outlook on life.  The characters are believable.  The story of I am the Messenger revolves around Ed, The Doorman, and Ed's three friends:  Audrey, Marv, and Ritchie.  Also included are Ed's mother, people Ed helps, and a mirage of secondary characters.  Readers can look past the cultural terms and see a group of friends who are able to say a lot with a minimal number of words.  The young people have barely reached adulthood and the author does a credible job of using age-appropriate dialogue.

Zusak keeps the reader interested as, one by one, Ed receives five mysterious messages from an unknown source.  The suspense builds as Ed reluctantly starts his extroverted journey until he embraces his quest with full vigor by story's end.  The conclusion of the story, however, was a bit of a letdown after the tremendous buildup of uncertainty throughout the book.

Although Zusak doesn't give a setting, the reader can imply that it is set in a small city in Australia when Ed pulls out his Gregory's to look up the different streets.  Zusak also gives a clue to the date when Ed sees that Milla has been waiting 60 years for Jimmy, who died in 1942, to return.  The author remains true to his setting.  Readers, regardless of country, can relate to Ed's ongoing dilemma.

The underlying message of I am the Messenger takes the readers on one young man's journey of having feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness to being confident and full of self-esteem.  When the card sender is revealed, he says that Ed is the "epitome of ordinariness."  He goes on to tell Ed, "if a guy like you can stand up and do what you did for all those people, well, maybe everybody can.  Maybe everyone can live beyond what they are capable of."   This is the universal truth to which generations today can relate.  No matter what their background, everyone is capable of accomplishing great things.

Awards and Honors

Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award, 2003
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ethel Turner Prize for Young
     People's Literature, 2003
Publisher's Weekly Best Books of the Year--Children, 2005
Printz Award Honor Book, 2006
Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, 2006
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, 2007


Review Excerpts

"While readers expecting to learn the who and why behind Ed's mysterious, life-changing game of aces may feel shortchanged by an ending that is at once too clever and ultimately confusing, the laid-back, dryly humorous first-person voice is engaging and unsentimental." -- Horn Book Magazine, March/April 2005.

"Zusak's characters, styling, and conversations are believably unpretentious, well conceived, and appropriately raw. Together, these key elements fuse into an enigmatically dark, almost film-noir atmosphere where unknowingly lost Ed Kennedy stumbles onto a mystery-or series of mysteries-that could very well make or break his life." --  Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library, School Library Journal, February 2005

"The metafictional ending may strike some readers as a shortcut, but it's sure to spark discussion, and readers will remember the characters long after they close the book."  -- Publisher's Weekly, January 2005


Other Books by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief
When Dogs Cry/Getting the Girl
Fighting Rueben Wolfe


Book Connections

These books focus on building self-esteem in children:

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake
I'm Proud to be Me by Yanitzia Canetti
Now I See How Great I Can Be by Linda Sky Grossman


Connection Activities

• After reading The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake, have the students discuss their thoughts and feelings using the guide created by the Anti-Defamation League (http://archive.adl.org/education/curriculum_connections/winter_2005/the_skin.html?cc_section=The_skin) which can be found on the TeachingBooks.net website (http://www.teachingbooks.net/titlesearch.cgi?id=6204&a=1&crc=1).
• "The Game of Compliments: This game of compliments should be played with a group of kids, hence, would be a perfect game to be played at school. Count the total number of children present in the class, give the children that many pieces of paper and ask them to write the name of each child. After this, ask them to write good qualities that they can think about others under those names. Once everyone has finished, the teacher should collect all the papers and read them to the whole class. Children will really enjoy listening to what others have said about them. Learning about the good things that their peers think about them would help in improving their self-esteem."  This activity is taken directly from Buzzle (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/self-esteem-activities-for-kids.html).